3 Cases of Burning Students, Police Investigate Alleged Criminal and Ponpes Negligence

MATARAM - The Central Lombok Police (Polres), West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), have examined 17 witnesses in the investigation of the alleged burning of three students at a pesantren in Batukliang District.

The incident resulted in one victim dying, while the other two suffered serious burns.

Head of the Public Relations Section of the Central Lombok Police, Iptu Lalu Brata Kusnadi, said the investigation process is now entering the final stage before a case is held to determine whether the case is worth being upgraded to the investigation stage.

According to Brata, one agenda that must still be completed by investigators is to ask for the opinion of criminal experts from Mataram University (Unram).

"All that is left is to ask for the opinion of criminal experts from Unram. After that, only the title of the case," said Brata when contacted via telephone in Mataram, quoted from Antara, Thursday, July 2.

He explained that the 17 witnesses who had been questioned came from various parties, ranging from victims, parents of victims, fellow students, administrators of boarding schools, to representatives of the Ministry of Religion (Kemenag).

The information from the Ministry of Religion, continued Brata, is needed to trace the legality aspects of the pesantren pondok which is the location of the incident.

However, Brata was not ready to reveal the schedule for the trial. He emphasized that the information was still part of the investigation strategy.

"Just wait. We will convey the next development," he said.

Handling this case is under the Women and Children Protection Unit (PPA) of the Central Lombok Police Criminal Investigation Unit.

During the investigation, the police investigated the alleged criminal act and traced the possibility of negligence from the management of the pesantren who caused three students to be victims of arson.

The incident is known to have occurred in November 2025. However, this case only became widely known after a video recording showing one of the victims undergoing treatment for burns circulated on social media in May 2026.

The case also received attention from the Mataram City Child Protection Agency (LPA). The Chairman of the Mataram City LPA, Joko Jumadi, admitted that he was concerned after seeing the victim's video uploaded through a social media account named @Tiara Erna BenKinara Cahya.

Based on the LPA investigation, the three victims at the time were still students in the first grade of the tsanawiyah madrasah. They were allegedly doused with fuel before being burned by fellow students.

As a result of the incident, two victims suffered severe burns, while another victim died.